| 83 Salmond Reed Architects ARCHITECTURE Engineering & Surveying services for the Auckland region and nationally. fraserthomas.co.nz Specialists in Seismic Assessments and Upgrades. T T Kim Newth Recognition for restoration projects Salmond Reed Architects was the project’s specialist heritage architects. Taking on the restoration and seismic upgrade of two historic chapels at Auckland’s Diocesan School for Girls presented a complex yet rewarding challenge for the architectural team involved. Completing the dual restoration of St Barnabas’ Chapel (1866) and the Chapel of Our Glorified Lord (1922) has been a significant achievement for both Salmond Reed Architects and Creative Arch, whose work on the project was recently shortlisted for a 2026 Auckland Architecture Award – Heritage. As project architects, Creative Arch led the seismic upgrade and restoration, including delivery of documentation and contract administration. Robust systems by Creative Arch were used to steer the project’s evolution. Salmond Reed Architects (SRA) was the project’s specialist heritage architects, principally represented by conservation architect Ali de Hora. SRA’s heritage support encompassed built-heritage assessment, condition reporting, management planning, archival photography, and ongoing advisory heritage input to the wider team. “Every year we work on exciting heritage projects but being part of the team restoring two historic chapels next to each other, each built of different materials - one timber (St Barnabas), one masonry (The Chapel of Our Glorified Lord) - was a unique undertaking,” says Lloyd Macomber, Director, Salmond Reed Architects. “Our role was to minimise the loss of original fabric and that meant finding creative ways to retain original building materials including brick, timber and stained glass.” Each chapel also required a different seismic strengthening approach to achieve the school’s ambitious target — 100% of the New Building Standard (NBS). Lloyd observes there was strong synergy across the design team, including structural engineer (Fraser Thomas Limited), which was essential to achieving the robust yet historically sensitive result. “It was a well-oiled machine throughout with everyone rowing in the same direction.” Creative Arch Director Tony Rowell agreed, saying good synergy was a hallmark of the whole team effort, from Diocesan’s Property Manager Melissa Brady (Diocesan School for Girls) to the architects, engineer and building contractors. “As a collective group, we all had the same outcome in mind and stayed solution-focussed as we began peeling back the layers, and right through to completion,” says Tony. Creative Arch is a seasoned design practice but has only been registered with Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects for several years. “So, to be on the shortlist for this award is huge for us and a significant milestone for the company.” Large steel tie beams were installed along the top plates of the Chapel of Our Glorified Lord, working with new cast in-situ concrete gable walls as an integrated seismic system, concealed behind matched timber living and bespoke GRC profiles, invisible to the untrained eye. In St Barnabas, the approach demanded near-surgical precision, with steel cross bracing threaded between existing timber posts, strip braces fixed to the roof framing, and rods grouted into the brick piers, all powder-coated matt black, so that what cannot be hidden is at least honest about what it is. Detailed timber, copper and lead work was carried out by skilled craftspeople, who each contributed to this historically sympathetic restoration. Tony says it was rewarding to see just how much the chapels meant to the school when they reopened again. “These chapels are a sacred and spiritual sanctuary for the school that have stood there for over a century, with St Barnabas itself more than 160 years old, and will now continue to stand long into the future.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=